gotta love having 3 of the top 12 in the norris voting
Would've never thought three years ago that that would be the case. And Staal, the guy most thought would have the best chance to contend for a Norris, isn't even on there. Hell, Roszival was probably our #1 defenseman back then. Crazy, huh? We've developed some serious depth.
In general, we've got a good young core. And the league is starting to take notice.
Congrats to F'ing Henrik. Very well-deserved. An incredible season guarding the net for the Rangers. Where would they be without him? The fact that he blew out Quick in votes is partly recognition that he's been nominated before. It's the accumulation of a wonderful first half of an NHL career by one of the great goalies of our era. If the same two goalies post the same stats three years from now, I'm willing to bet the voting is a lot closer. It's just Henrik's time. Just as it is Malkin's for winning the Hart by putting a Crosbyless Pens team on his shoulders and leading them to one of the best records in the NHL. Gotta give him credit too. He's paid his dues playing in the shadow of hockey's messiah, and now he himself is getting recognized as being arguably the best of the best in the eyes of the voters.
All in all, I gotta say it's a great time to be a Rangers fan. We'll see what happens next year. We have a few things we need to improve on as a team, no doubt, and we're all anxious to see what happens in the offseason. But for me, as a Rangers fan, last night was a night to take pride in and acknowledge the achievements of a handful of our most important players, and especially the man between the pipes, who keeps setting new standards and proving his worth. The King. Henrik Lundqvist.
To be honest these awards are very much secondary to winning a Cup and the shows themselves are unwatchable--just like a Hollywood or music industry award show and not all that far removed from something like America has talent. Nice that Henrik slipped in an f word though and he is just about the best goalie on the planet--though I think Quick is really, really close.
Great news that Hank finally got the Vezina, he was an absolute monster this year. Obviously, it's not cup, but it's a great honor for the backbone of this team.
I'm also really pleasantly surprised about NYR players getting votes for all sorts of awards - a lot of kids especially. The future is bright.
Wonderful to see. Only one piece missing from his collection now....
I am a little surprised about Malkin winning the Hart. Personally, I felt Stamkos and Lundqvist were more valuable to their respective teams. At the very least, I expected a closer vote.
With that said, this team has a lot of pieces in place to be dangerous for a long time. Ultimately, their actions this offseason will determine their fate next spring.
I think Karlsson ABSOLUTELY deserved the Norris. The guy put up ridiculous number, and played average D. He wasnt nearly as bad in his own zone as ppl make him out to be. He's not great, nowhere near as good as Weber, but you have to factor in that he had almost 30 more points than Weber, he gets it absolutely. Weber is amazing, as is Chara...but Karlsson deserved it. Offense gets factored in as much as defense. Otherwise a guy like Staal should be nominated every year, and isn't.
